A - Fort Smith's first collection of northern artifacts was assembled for display in 1964 in the basement of Grandin College. The artifacts had been collected by the Oblate Fathers and Grey Nuns, in particular Brother Henri Saurreault and Father Franci Ebner.

In 1972, the Northern Anthropological and Cultural Society was formed in Fort Smith with the expressed purpose of promoting, creating and maintaining the operation of a museum. Construction of the present museum building was begun in 1973 with funds from federal, territorial and municipal governments as well as local businesses.

B - Architect John Murray intended the museum to look like a northern fort. The building's colours were chosen to reflect the northern environment: white for the snows of the long northern winter, green for the forests, blue trim for the northern sky and copper sunburst doors to symbolize the land of the midnight sun.

C - Ceremonial ribbon of official opening for Northern Life Museum.

D - Examples of local plants.

This digital collection was produced under contract to the SchoolNet Digital Collections program, Industry Canada.